Due to the number of questions about Vortex sights, I'm making a dedicated review thread. Please post the following information if you're reviewing a Vortex sight:

* Model number
* Likes
* Dislikes
* What firearms it's mounted on
* What other optics you considered and why you chose this model

Questions of a RELEVANT TECHNICAL nature about this optic are also allowed; do NOT, however, ask "does anyone have a review for XYZ?" It they had, it would already be posted. Please read through the review thread to make sure it hasn't already been answered.

Daddy loves you. Now go away.

Originally Posted By PAEBR332: Congratulations. This post has a created a stupidity event horizon from which no logic, reason or science will ever escape.

-built very solid
-just the right amount of resistance in the turrets(very solid "click")
-eyebox/eye relief is best I've ever encountered
-all purpose reticle is very fast yet precise when needed

Dislikes:

-the illumination intensity goes from 'only visible in absolute pitch black' to 'daylight visible' between the 5 & 6 setting, there is no middle ground brightness(for indoor/low light) settings at all
-zero stop feature took some tweaking to get proper functionality

Rifle:

-16" lightweight CAR w/ 1-7 barrel in 5.56
-LaRue SPR-E mount

My choices were:

Burris Tac 30
Leatherwood CMR
Vortex Viper PST

I had my heart set on the burris (wasn't planning on spending more than 350) but they were out of stock everywhere for quite some time. I'm glad I spend the extra cash now because I've fallen in love with the reticle. The more I look at the tac 30 the more I think I would have grown tired of how bold the reticle is. (which is great for cqb, but not so much for ranging/precision)

I also was interested in the CMR, but the reticle looked a bit too fine for my eyes(I wear glasses). The eyebox was also a concern in my final choice.

-built very solid
-just the right amount of resistance in the turrets(very solid "click")
-eyebox/eye relief is best I've ever encountered
-all purpose reticle is very fast yet precise when needed

Dislikes:

-the illumination intensity goes from 'only visible in absolute pitch black' to 'daylight visible' between the 5 & 6 setting, there is no middle ground brightness(for indoor/low light) settings at all
-zero stop feature took some tweaking to get proper functionality

I had my heart set on the burris (wasn't planning on spending more than 350) but they were out of stock everywhere for quite some time. I'm glad I spend the extra cash now because I've fallen in love with the reticle. The more I look at the tac 30 the more I think I would have grown tired of how bold the reticle is. (which is great for cqb, but not so much for ranging/precision)

I also was interested in the CMR, but the reticle looked a bit too fine for my eyes(I wear glasses). The eyebox was also a concern in my final choice.

Is the daylight illumination setting bright enough to be visible in the day on a BRIGHT range? How hard is it to view the hash marks? It's SFP for the reticle, correct? so the reticle stays the same size and does not get bigger?

Is the daylight illumination setting bright enough to be visible in the day on a BRIGHT range? How hard is it to view the hash marks? It's SFP for the reticle, correct? so the reticle stays the same size and does not get bigger?

@ the 9-10 settings around noon at the range, the red will appear more crimson, but still visible, except if you look into the sky, in which case it will look black.

The hash marks are extremely clear for me, after I adjusted the eye piece for my eyes. Also, I have the MOA version, which has the finer hash marks, if you went with MIL you would have even larger ones.

It is indeed SFP, and yes it does stay the same size, so the center dot is 4 MOA when @ 1x, and becomes 1 MOA when magnified to 4x. I feel this is perfect for a multi-purpose optic.

If you saw my other thread I made I first tried the Millett TRS-1, at anything abour 14x the eye relief was horrid, your eye needed to be in an exact place or you couldnt see anything, and when you found the right spot it was still cloudy as all hell. What sealed the deal for me sending it back was that it would not adjust to be parralax free.

After sending that back I found a hidden Gem, the Vortex Viper 6.5-20x50mm scope. I will admit I missed it at first because I was looking for "tacticool" knobs, and this scope has them hidden under caps. It was $170 more then the TRS-1 @ $470 plus shipping. Doing what an arfcommer SHOULD was I found a site sponser, who then price matched another website's 5% off coupon and free shipping. Thanks Marshal @ Primary Arms for that. All said it done it was $437 shipped.

Before you read this review I want you to be aware that I do not own any top dollar glass (other then my aimpoint PRO), I am upgrading for a $150 chinese scope.

Initial Impressions:

When I first got the box it looks and is built like the two other boxes the chinese scopes came in, the vortex box was a little heavier but it was still packaged very cheaply. It had two squar pieces of foam on either end holding it. The scope comes with VERY cheap bikini covers on it that are worthless, this to me was dissappointing as my $50 barska scope came with these on it!

The scope itself has a perfect and very smooth finish on it, and it feels considerably light, especially in comparison to the Millett TRS-1 I just returned. The caps on the "turrets" are actually pretty hefty, but they seem to lack an Oring, which I thought was odd. I read that on other people's rifles the caps would loosen under recoil and I think Orings would help with that. On the button of the adjustment area Vortex USA, the serial number, and Phillipines is machined into the scope.

It also does not come with a sun shade, which I ordered for $30 extra from adorama.com who had free shipping on it.

Now I will definetly be criticized for how I mounted it. I have a LT-104 but using the UBR it feels unnnaturraly and uncomfortably high so I used Two LT-152's, yes on is on the FF DD M4 rail. I will have to shoot farther then 100 yards to see if there is any negative effects from doing this.

Adjustment Turrets:

Now Vortex uses a different system to "zero" the turrets. All you do is pull up on them and turn them to zero and let it pull itself back down and your turrets now are zeroed. Now I read that this required you to pull hard to do this, but Vortex must have read that and reduced the power of the springs because I thought it was very easy to pull up, too easy, I would rather have the springs be much stronger. As for adjusting when turning it made very positive clicks that were nut mushy at all, but I found the turrets seemed a bit loose and could spin freely a very small amount un-aligning the adjustment lines. I think that this is do to how you zero the turrets.

Without the caps on the turrets are very low profile...

Magnification Ring:

This is one of the best things about this scope, but its also the one thing I would want to change. Below on the picture you can see how the numbers are raised and the red mark that is actually attached to the ring you sping. Without moving your head much you can easily see this and I really like it, but If I were to have made the rifle I would have made the red mark stay stationary and ahve the numbers move because the ones on the end are kind of hard to quickly read.

Also as you can see there is a thick white line by 14x, which is showing how the crosshair is made to be used at 14x, another thing I was dissappointed with was it didn't make click when you get to 14x to let you know you are on it, you need to visually set it at 14x.

Optics:

I cannot compare to any high dollar scope, but I can tell you that they are super bright and clear at 6.5x all the way up to 20x. The best part is the eye relief and eye placement are changed between 6.5 and 20x.

When adjusting parrallax you need to ignore the sharpness or your target, only adjust for reticle movement and then use the eye piece to focus. took me 15 seconds to get a perfect parralax and focus at 100 yards.

Now when I first got the scope I took it outside and looed at my shed which is 50 yards away. I was able to easily read the number that the dial was at on my masterlock combo lock. I will not beable to take this any further then 100 yards at an actualy shootings range until the summer but it works perfectly at 100.

Now the scope is VERY low on my rifle there is only 3-5mm of clearance between the objective and my front rail, at 20x and maybe 30-40 rounds I could see the heat coming from the rails/barrel when using the scope at 20x.

100 yards @ 20x: red squares are 1", so are the solid and hollow circles. Now I'm not sure how to get a good picture but obviously the picture make the optics look like shit, one day I will figure out how to take a good picture, for now this is what I can do...

Length with sunshade and how it resides now...

To be honest, I dont think I will ever buy a cheap chinese made scope after handling this. I was actually going to get a Falcon Menace scope, but I am damn glad I got this thing. If I ever need another scope Vortex will be where I look first, for the money this scope is rediculously good. To anyone that thinks a $100-200 scope looks good, do yourself a favor and save up for one of these.

EDIT: Also if you are thinking about a Millett TRS, add this to your cart instead

Little addition to my review....

To show the clarity I decided to look at my masterlock on my shed through the scope.

I just measured with google maps and the lock on my shed is actually 38 yards away, so I went out and tried with 14x magnification, and if you do that math, 14x at 38 yards is actually a little less then 20x at 50 yards.

TO me it looked perfectly clear and focused on the lock but my camera wouldnt take a sharp picture, here is the best I could manage with manual focus...

Also I dont know if you can tell or not, my shed and the lock are in the shade....
Cropped....
Yes that is paintballs all over my shed.

- Excellent quality glass, very robust build quality
- Reasonable Price
- Great "do it all" reticle - both close up and distant. 1 MOA center dot for precise shooting at 4x, yet the "ring" around it makes also makes the reticle easy to pick up and a good size for point and squirt rapid hoser stages/tactical training.
- Very nice turrets with really positive feel, rotational zero stop
- Very forgiving eye box, especially at 1x. Closest "real" scope to a red dot I have come across for close in rapid shooting.
- Overall a very versatile scope, good for all sorts of shooting - 3 gun and tactical, but also allows you the be precise at range. Not too heavy or too big.
- Its a Vortex - which means you get the best no questions, no fault, irrespective of how many owners warranty and customer service in the industry.

* Dislikes

- Illumination could be better. There are 10 brightness settings, however, the first 5 are really for use with NVG's and are effectively worthless without (number 5 would work in pitch black with naked night adjusted eye). Then at setting number 6, it jumps up to a setting that is a bit too bright for low level (i.e. in your house at night)....and goes up to level 10, which is a bit too low for bright daytime illumination!! I've made this sound worse than it actually is in practice, however, a nice progressive stepping 1-10 would be best, maybe with only one level reserved for NVG usage.

- Tied in with the above point - if you are shooting at small, distant dark colored targets in the daytime, it can be tricky to pinpoint exactly where your 1Moa center dot is against a dark background....which is where good bright daylight illumination would come in handy. After reading around the net however, sounds like this is all easier said than done with this type of reticle, and to do it would probably reduce the pinpoint sharpness of the reticle....I can easily live with the tradeoff, but its right on my wishlist!

- Not a dislike per-se, but I am in two minds about the exposed turrets (for my use). As I'm action sports oriented, I tend to use the reticle to work out my holds etc, and on a 1-4 scope ( especially with the reticle being as good as it is), at the ranges I shoot (1-350 yards typically), I think the upcoming Viper HS might be the better 3 gun bet, as the enclosed turrets on that one will 100% not move when you dump your rifle in a barrel, etc. Have to say I've not had it happen with the PST.....but the thought is always in my mind and I have to "OCD" check at the end of every stage.

* What firearms it's mounted on

- Purpose (self) built action/3 gun rifle used extensively for competition, and training for said competitions, but still "real world" usable for any real life dramas that may arise, like when the world ends next December, say . Scope is in an extended Bobro mount.

* What other optics you considered and why you chose this model

- Had a Trijicon TR24R prior to this, which was very promising, however it had a fault and I sent it in for repair. Due to an ensuing customer service nightmare with them, I ended up getting the vortex (couldn't wait any longer to get the TR24 back). Every cloud has a silver lining however, and I am so glad the experience prompted me into the getting the Vortex. While the TR24 has great daytime illumination and is good for fast close in shots, and I really thought the no batteries day or night operation was great, it is not the equal of the vortex when the ranges start to increase over 200 yards. Also - I would give the nod to the Vortex on the more forgiving eye relief and better quality glass....and all around $200 dollars cheaper. And not that I've needed it yet, but from what I can gather, I feel very confident that if I did have to send this scope away for repair at any point, with Vortex's CS I wouldn't be ignored and kept waiting so many months I'd end up buying another scope from a competitor. Overall I'd give the Viper PST an excellent 9/10 - dropping the point for the mentioned illumination quirks.

I have Votex Strikefire. I really like it. Have on my wulf, and has kept zero through over 100 rds. it has a threaded end, in the front and references in manual those threads are for nigh vision add on. Anyone know what nigh vision can be screwed on this scope. I have not found aything in my searches. Just wondering if I was hoping for something more than what is actually out there, or if suc a monster actually exists.

"Democracy will cease to exist when you take from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not"Thomas Jefferson

Plusses:
- Excellent build quality, very solid
- Razor sharp, crisp optic. Absolutely as sharp as any glass I've ever seen
- Good price
- Zoom is smooth and crisp
- I like the reticle, easy to get on target, doesn't obscure objective
- Easy to adjust, positive clicks when adjusting
- Great company to work with (I talked with them when my scope was on backorder)

Minuses:
- Illumination isn't quite bright enough for daylight use (not a big deal to me). I don't need the nv modes, so having some brighter daylight modes would have been nice, but not a big deal.

Firearm:
Rock River Arms CAR-A4

Other Thoughts:
I really like the scope. I got an awesome deal on it through my company, and never looked back.
It was easy to mount, setup, and sight in. Held zero great, was accurate as could be, and I'm very pleased with it. It's my first scope, and I am very pleased with it. I would buy through them again.

Viper pst 1-4 mounted right now on my 22lr upper until I get my gas tube for my black out upper.

I also have have the sparc, I have not shot with the spark yet but I thought I had an issue with it and sent it back to vortex who said the battery was dead and they replaced it. I felt like a dumbass but since it was a new and never used it and it sat for 6 months on the rifle, I thought there was an issue. Customer Service was outstanding.

I really have issues with either and would buy again. I just can't wait to get out there and use them.

* Likes*Incredibly clear optics for the price.
*Great reticle for deer hunting.
*Positive adjustment turrets.
*Magnification ring works very well. Not too hard to turn or too easy. Great grip!
*Very durable optic. Built like the proverbial tank!
*Warranty that matches or beats anything in the industry. Great CS.

* Dislikes*Weight @ 130z is a bit much for a 2-7 on a light weight rifle.
*They discontinued them. Still available at some online retailers though.
*The company hasn't been around as long as many others, so doubts about longevity.

* What firearms it's mounted on*Marlin 336 .30-30 Winchester.

* What other optics you considered and why you chose this model*Leupold VX2 2-7
*Nikon Monarch 2-7
*I choose the Vortex because the optics are as clear as the Nikon and clearer than the Leupold at a much cheaper price point. I also liked the Versa Plex reticle and think it perfect for intermediate range deer hunting. Great warranty pushed me over the edge.